archaeological and textual records - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell ...

necessary satisfaction in mutual gifts, -- by means of which they maintain a
good understanding with one another. (JR 51:80-81)
The act of being “clear minded” in both diplomatic and day-to-day
interactions, especially when faced with bereavement or thoughts of vengeance, was
arguably a vital outcome of these ritual functions (Richter 1992:39). While the
Iroquoian practice of gift-giving and their notion of communal ownership was
regarded highly by the Jesuits, it was often misunderstood by the Dutch and English,
who tended to view alliance and property in stricter economic terms (Richter
1992:22).
The Senecas built their longhouses and formed several villages predominantly
in what is now West-Central New York, between the Genesee River and Canandaigua
Lake (Houghton 1912:367). Wray and Schoff (1953) first suggested that the Senecas
built two major villages, paired each with at least one smaller “satellite settlement.”
Each major village site contained roughly between one and two thousand people
(Vandrei 1987:10). Also, while the Seneca practiced agriculture and were fairly
sedentary in that regard, they still moved their villages at least every 10-20 years
(Wray and Schoff 1953:2). Even though archaeological investigations have since re-
dated the site sequence (Sempowski and Saunders 2001), the basic settlement pattern
proposed by Wray and Schoff has been corroborated and elaborated on in the thorough
investigations of modern scholars (Jordan 2004; 2008).
From their village outposts, the Senecas were connected to a vast network of
trade and exchange involving other native groups, as well as the Dutch, the French and
later, the English. As will be elaborated on later, it is very likely that “Jesuit artifacts”
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